PI Scanner User Guide

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Eleanor Morton
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1 PI Scanner User Guide Table of Contents 1. Highlights 2. Overview 3. Installation 3.1. PI Scanner Software Installation 3.2. USB to Serial Interface Board Installation 3.3. Programming the PI Scanner IP in the FPGA 4. PI Scanner Measurement Setup 5. PI Scanner Application Screen 5.1. Hardware Connection Panel 5.2. System Status Panel 5.3. Frequency Sweep Panel 5.4. S-Parameter Model Extraction 5.5. Waveform Viewer Panel 6. Example Measurement 1 PDN Impedance Frequency Sweep 7. Example Measurement 2 Extract S-Parameter Model of FPGA Core Supply PDN 8. Troubleshooting Support 1

2 1. Highlights PI Scanner software application and FPGA IP are used for: 1. Measuring the impedance frequency profile of FPGA power distribution network 2. Extracting S-parameter models of FPGA power distribution network 2. Overview PI Scanner software application is used to control a PI Scanner IP programmed into an FPGA to measure the power distribution network impedance and to extract an S-parameter model of the power distribution network. The communication between PI Scanner application and PI Scanner IP in the FPGA is done through a serial UART interface using an USB to serial adapter module. Figure 1 shows a block diagram of the PI Scanner measurement setup: Figure 1. Block Diagram of the PI Scanner Measurement Setup The link between computer and FPGA consists of a USB connection between computer and a USB to serial adapter board and a serial interface from the adapter board to the FPGA. The PI Scanner IP in the FPGA has two serial interface pins, Tx and Rx, that are connected to the USB to serial adapter board. 3. Installation The installation process includes three steps: installing PI Scanner software application, installing the USB to serial adapter board, and programming the PI Scanner IP in the FPGA PI Scanner Software Installation PI Scanner software comes on a CD and it can be installed on a personal computer running Windows 7, 8, or 10. To install the software insert the CD in the computer and the installation 2

should start automatically. Follow the steps to complete the installation. If the installation does not start automatically you can start it manually.

When completed, the PI Scanner icon should be added to the Start Menu, as shown in the figure below: 3.2.

3 should start automatically. Follow the steps to complete the installation. If the installation does not start automatically you can start it manually. Open Windows Explorer and navigate to the CD-ROM drive that contains the CD, open the folder named piscanner and run the Setup application. When completed, the PI Scanner icon should be added to the Start Menu, as shown in the figure below: 3.2. USB to Serial Adapter Board Installation The USB to serial adapter board is based on the FT232RL FTDI chip, and it needs to have the FTDI driver installed in the computer in order to be functional. To install the driver plug the USB to serial adapter board in a USB port of the computer and open the Device Manager panel. If the FTDI driver is not already installed in the computer the adapter board will be listed under Other Devices like in the picture below: 3

select Search automatically for updated driver software.

4 Right-click on the USB Serial Port item and select Update Driver Software When the Update Driver Software window opens select Search automatically for updated driver software. An Internet connection is needed for this selection. 4

5 The installation should start automatically. If the installation does not start automatically or if the installation cannot find the driver automatically you will need to manually install the driver from the FTDI Chip manufacturer web site: Download the D2XX driver version that corresponds to your computer type and operating system and unzip the file. Plug the USB to Serial adapter board in a USB port of the computer and open the Device Manager panel. Follow the steps described above for automatic installation up to the step: Update Driver Software window, shown in the picture below. 5

6 Select the option Browse my computer for driver software and select the location where you have downloaded and extracted the driver: Click Next, and the computer should start the installation process: 6

7 When installation is completed the Update Driver Software window should display the message Windows has successfully updated your driver software : 7

8 The device manager should show the USB to serial adapter board as a USB Serial Port with a COM port number assigned, like in the example below: FPGA UART port settings match the default computer COM port settings, shown in the screenshot below: 8

Please check if the USB to serial adapter assigned COM port settings on your computer match the settings in this screenshot: Bits per second = 9600, Data bits = 8, Parity = None, Stop bits = 1, Flow

9 Please check if the USB to serial adapter assigned COM port settings on your computer match the settings in this screenshot: Bits per second = 9600, Data bits = 8, Parity = None, Stop bits = 1, Flow control = None, and adjust the settings if necessary to match these values Programming the PI Scanner IP in the FPGA Before using the PI Scanner software application the FPGA needs to be programmed with a PI Scanner intellectual property (IP) configuration file. The process of programming the FPGA with the PI Scanner IP file depends on the type of FPGA and type of programming interface, and it is covered in the user guide of the PI Scanner FPGA IP for each specific FPGA type and board configuration. In the following steps of this user guide it is assumed that the FPGA is programmed with a PI Scanner IP. 4. PI Scanner Measurement Setup Connect the USB to serial adapter board RX, Tx, and GND pins to the Tx, Rx, and GND pins of the FPGA board following the block diagram shown in Figure 1 at the beginning of this document. The Rx pin of the adapter board connects to the Tx pin of the FPGA board and the Tx pin of the adapter board connects to the Rx pin of the FPGA board. The following picture shows an example of measurement setup. 9

The power up needs to follow the sequence described below: 1.

Connect the USB cable to a USB port of the computer 3.

Start the PI Scanner software application on the computer.

10 The power up needs to follow the sequence described below: 1. Connect the power supply connector to the FPGA board 2. Connect the USB cable to a USB port of the computer 3. Press and release the reset button on the FPGA board 4. Start the PI Scanner software application on the computer. The application searches for the COM port of the USB to serial adapter and connects automatically to the adapter, and then it 10

as shown in the picture below: If the communication with the FPGA could not be established or if the FPGA IP

11 detects the FPGA board and device ID. If the connection is successful the PI Scanner screen shows the interface Connected in Hardware Connection panel, as shown in the picture below: If the communication with the FPGA could not be established or if the FPGA IP identification number does not match the PI Scanner identification number the Hardware Connection panel shows the interface as Not Connected, as shown in the picture below: 11

12 5. PI Scanner Application Screen The PI Scanner application screen contains five control panels and a waveform viewer window. The five control panels are: Hardware Connection, System Status, Frequency Sweep, S- Parameter Model Extraction, and Waveform Viewer. The following sections describe each of these panels Hardware Connection Panel The following figure shows the elements of the hardware connection panel. The hardware connection panel displays the FPGA device type, PI Scanner IP version configured in the FPGA device, and the status of the hardware connection and initialization. The COMM port of the USB to serial adapter board is also displayed. The Manual and Auto buttons are used for troubleshooting the serial interface connection. The Errors box shows if any serial communication error has occurred during measurement run time. The System Debug button is used for advanced troubleshooting mode System Status Panel The system status panel shows the measurement status and a progress bar. During measurement the status changes to Measurement, Please Wait! and the progress bar advances gradually until the measurement completes. 12

5.3. Frequency Sweep Panel The frequency sweep panel is shown in the figure below.

The selection of power domain and coupling between domains is done using the selection tab highlighted in the picture below: In this PI Scanner configuration example there are

The user can select to measure the impedance of the VDDINT power supply domain, the impedance of the VDDO I/O power supply domain, the coupling from VDDO into VDDINT, or the

13 5.3. Frequency Sweep Panel The frequency sweep panel is shown in the figure below. The PI Scanner application can measure the impedance of various power domains of the FPGA power distribution network and the noise coupling between different power domains. The selection of power domain and coupling between domains is done using the selection tab highlighted in the picture below: In this PI Scanner configuration example there are two power domains, VDDINT for the 1.2V core supply of the Xilinx Spartan 3 FPGA and VDDO for the 3.3V I/Os supply. The user can select to measure the impedance of the VDDINT power supply domain, the impedance of the VDDO I/O power supply domain, the coupling from VDDO into VDDINT, or the coupling from VDDINT into VDDO. Different PI Scanner configurations for other types of FPGAs may contain additional power domains and coupling among power domains. The start and stop frequencies of the frequency sweep are selected using the START and STOP fields in the panel, as highlighted in the picture below. 13

The save results and load results buttons are used to store the measured waveforms and load previous measurements. 5.4.

cancel the extraction process. This example configuration of PI Scanner, for Spartan 3 FPGA, has three options of s-parameter model extraction, as shown in the figure below.

14 The save results and load results buttons are used to store the measured waveforms and load previous measurements S-Parameter Model Extraction The S-Parameter Model Extraction panel includes a selection tab for power domain, a Run button that starts the s-parameter model extraction and a Stop button that can cancel the extraction process. This example configuration of PI Scanner, for Spartan 3 FPGA, has three options of s-parameter model extraction, as shown in the figure below. The three options are: 1-port VDDINT core supply s-parameter model, 1-port VDDO I/O power domain s-parameter model, and 2-port VDDINT and VDDO power domains Waveform Viewer Panel The waveform viewer panel controls what is displayed in the waveform viewer window and performs mouse-move cursor measurements of frequency and magnitude on the displayed trace. The waveform viewer panel enables the display of up to five traces previously stored in the memory. Each of the Add Trace X button includes a text field that displays the file name and folder where the corresponding trace is stored, as shown in the figure below: 14

15 The colors correspond to the colors of the waveforms displayed in the waveform viewer window, as shown in the picture below: 15

16 6. Example Measurement 1 PDN Impedance Frequency Sweep 16

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19 7. Example Measurement 2 Extract S-Parameter Model of FPGA Core Supply PDN 19

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21 8. Troubleshooting Support 1. If there is an issue with the serial link when starting PI Scanner application, the PI Scanner will wait around seconds before the application displays on the screen. This is because the software program scans all the available COM ports on the computer trying to communicate with the FPGA, as it does not know to which COM port the USB to serial adapter is connected. After searching all COM ports the PI Scanner application starts and displays the connection status as Not Connected in the hardware connection panel. 2. If the serial communication is not successful, exit PI Scanner application and check the cable connections between computer and the USB to serial adapter board and between the adapter board and FPGA. If the connections look correct, disconnect the power from the FPGA board and reconnect it back. After 1-2 seconds press/release momentarily the Reset button of the FPGA board, and restart PI Scanner. This is a common fix for serial link connections problems. If these methods do not fix the problem, contact us using the contact information on website. 21

1) Installing Bluetooth software for Windows (A) Place installation CD into PC and setup should launch automatically.

1) Installing Bluetooth software for Windows (A) Place installation CD into PC and setup should launch automatically. If setup does not launch, use Windows Explorer to navigate to the appropriate CD- ROM